On his way to Asia for a week-long regional trip, Trump gave a sweeping list of issues he hopes to raise with the Chinese leader.
President Donald Trump said he plans to raise the issues of Taiwan, imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, and Russia’s war in Ukraine during his upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, signaling a wide-ranging agenda amid ongoing trade and geopolitical tensions.
Speaking to reporters on Oct. 24 on the South Lawn of the White House and then aboard Air Force One as he departed for a week-long swing through Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, Trump previewed a sweeping agenda from agriculture and trade to regional security and human rights.
“We have a lot of things to discuss, including our farmers,” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked what he expects from the Xi meeting. “A lot of things to discuss—the various trade deals that have been made in the past, some broken, some not broken. … I think it’s going to turn out to be a very good meeting.”
Trump said Taiwan would be among the topics raised.
“I’ll be talking about Taiwan. Won’t be going there, but I’ll be talking about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Won’t be too far away. A lot of respect for Taiwan.”
On board Air Force One, Trump was asked about his earlier comments that he doesn’t think China would make any moves against Taiwan, which Beijing has long considered a rogue breakaway island that it has vowed to eventually reunite with the Chinese mainland.
“I hope they won’t, but we’ll have to see. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t,” Trump replied. “I hope they won’t. It would be very dangerous for them to do.”
Trump added that he believes China “wants to have 10 great years—and they can … or they can have some bad years—and they don’t want that.”
He also said he intends to bring up the case of Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily, who has been imprisoned since 2020 under Hong Kong’s national security law, widely seen a key part the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) bid to erode the city’s autonomy and crack down on dissent.
“It’s on my list—I’m gonna ask,” Trump said on the South Law, adding that he understands there’s considerable animosity between Lai and Xi, but “it’s been a long time and it’ll be on my list.”
By Tom Ozimek
